Quiches

I made quiches. And they were yummy.

Bacon, caramelised onions and spinach quiches

Onions

But first, I had to actually spend time to make these quiches. The caramelised onions were certainly a bit*h. It took me an hour to prepare them. I have to add that I was ambitious and caramelised four onions. Yes. You read that right. FOUR. In fact, I over prepared for the bacon caramelised spinach filling. 

I've adjusted the recipe proportions below so that there won't be too much leftovers (hopefully). It's okay if you have leftovers. I made crustless quiches with extra eggs and cream. Or you can go all fancy and call them frittatas. I had them for lunch and they were tasty. Toast and butter a couple of slices of bread and eat them together with the frittatas and you've got yourself a lovely lunch that warms your stomach.

Filling the tart (just look at the leftover filling in the background!)

What's quiches without cheese? Mushrooms and leeks quiche-lettes

I used a recipe I've tried before in the past for these quiches, and they turned out as good as I remembered. Sis gave the thumbs up (again) so I reckon it'll be known from here forth as my keeper quiche recipe.

I've yet to try the mushrooms and leeks quiche-lettes as there were only four of them. I froze all of them for my Sis for a quick-fix lunch option. I reckon they should be quite good too as I tasted the filling (there wasn't much leftovers for these as I had only purchased one leek from the grocery store) and it was really good (with the added brandy in place of port).

Wholemeal Pâte Brisée
Recipe here. (I doubled the recipe.)

Egg mixture
5-6 eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup milk
1 cup cream

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, season with some salt and pepper and pour the mixture over the filled tarts.

Bacon caramelised onions spinach filling
(enough for one big rectangular tart)
3 slices bacon
2 onions
1/3 bag of frozen spinach
few cloves of garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
shredded mozzarella cheese

Caramelise onions as per here. It took me close to an hour to do this. Set aside to cool.
Sauté the bacon slices until crispy brown. Drain on paper towel. Crumble and set aside.
Sauté the chopped garlic, add the frozen spinach and cover with lid for a few minutes to let it steam cook. Stir-fry till spinach is cooked, set aside to cool.
Layer the pre-baked tart crust with the above, finishing off with cheese. Pour the egg mixture over and bake.

Leeks and mushrooms filling (adapted from Deb at Smitten Kitchen)
1 leek, white part only, sliced 
1/4 cup water 
salt 
1 1/2 tbsp butter 
5 to 6 large white mushrooms, sliced 
1 tablespoon brandy
shredded mozzarella cheese

Boil the leeks over moderately high heat in a covered saucepan with the water, 2/3 tablespoons butter and 1/3 tsp salt until it the liquid has almost evaporated.
Lower heat and stew gently for 10 to 15 minutes until leeks are very tender. Put them aside in a bowl. Add 1/3 tablespoon of butter to the pan along with the sliced mushrooms, big pinch of salt and brandy. Cover pan and cook over moderately low heat for 5 minutes. Uncover. Raise heat and boil for several minutes until liquid is completely evaporated and mushrooms are beginning to saute in their butter. Stir cooked mushrooms into leek mixture.
Layer the pre-baked tart crust with the above, finishing off with cheese. Pour the egg mixture over and bake.